I like most of these, Smith compares exactly to Kronwall. There is no better comparison for him in the entire league I dont think.

Nyquist, I think is more like a Filppula. Shifty hands, good D except Nyquist seems to have natural finishing ability that Val lacks.

I really like the Sobotka comparison for Tatar, I had never thought about it but it is a very good one.

Sheahan has better hands than Gaustad but I think Gaustad is his lowest potential really. Could see him becoming more of a Bolland type

I like the Kronwall-Smith and Filppula-Nyquist comparisons, but I've heard them a lot so I thought I'd try to come up with something different. There's just something about Smith that reminds me of Yandle. Maybe just the way they skate or their kind of lanky build, combined with the fact that they're offensive defensemen with some iffy play in their own zone at times.

I think Sheahan will be more like Gaustad than Bolland, but I think Gaustad is the extreme of Sheahan. When I think of Sheahan I think big, defensive center who's good on faceoffs and has limited offensive abilities. Gaustad takes each of these to the extreme - he's very big, very good defensively, very good on faceoffs, and is very limited offensively. Sheahan will be similar imo, but not to the extreme - i.e. maybe not as big and good defensively, but more offensive upside. I think 4th line C is a pessimistic projection for Sheahan and a consistent 40+ point 3rd line C is on the optimistic side, so somewhere in the middle is what I'm thinking.

Smith is far more scrappy than Yandle. He throws plenty of hits, and has an edge to his game that is absent from Yandle's. The Kronwall comparison is pretty bang on.

Some.. no MOST of these comparisons are ridiculous. Comparing Nyquist to Datsyuk? That's laughable.

They're comparisons. I don't think that anyone is saying Nyquist is going to be the next Datsyuk. As mentioned, a lot of these comparisons were made by Red Wings management and staff, so I suppose they're ridiculous too. What do they know about hockey?

Because they aren't really 'top prospects'. Maybe among our organization. Not so much throughout the rest of the league.

Until the Wings suck and start getting Top 10 picks they are not going to, and are stuck trying to find talent that will just take longer to develop. This is easily the best the prospect pool has looked in over a decade, so I'm just not getting all the pooh-poohing.

The problem with our "prospects" is, we really don't know if they are. As of today, most are just names. Pick any of the rating sites you want, most rate our prospects with a high of Smith on down. But everyone of those sites gives a strong cya on each guy. For example, Hockeysfuture.com gives Smith a 8.0 rating which is equl to a potentail #2 D. But at the same time they also give him a grade of C, which means "may make it, but could drop 2 points". At 6 points Smith goes from a future #2 to a journeyman #6 or 7 Dman. Everyone else on our list has already made it to the NHL: maursk and nyquist or has yet to play a professional game. Could all of them develop? Yes. Could they all flame out? Yes. Most are 3+ years away from any of us being able to tell, one way or the other. The problem is, we need the help now.

The problem with our "prospects" is, we really don't know if they are. As of today, most are just names. Pick any of the rating sites you want, most rate our prospects with a high of Smith on down. But everyone of those sites gives a strong cya on each guy. For example, Hockeysfuture.com gives Smith a 8.0 rating which is equl to a potentail #2 D. But at the same time they also give him a grade of C, which means "may make it, but could drop 2 points". At 6 points Smith goes from a future #2 to a journeyman #6 or 7 Dman. Everyone else on our list has already made it to the NHL: maursk and nyquist or has yet to play a professional game. Could all of them develop? Yes. Could they all flame out? Yes. Most are 3+ years away from any of us being able to tell, one way or the other. The problem is, we need the help now.

All fine points - though you have to give Holland credit here, he realized it and is in a position with a ton of cap space.

Edited by egroen, 19 May 2012 - 12:20 AM.

Red Kelly #4 and Larry Aurie #6 belong in the rafters!!!

"For my game, I don't need to score the goal," Konstantinov once explained. "I need someone to start thinking about me and forgetting about scoring goals."

Kronwall has never punched anyone in the face and he never will...Is it wrong I have hopes for Sheahan to be the next Bertuzzi?

Smith is basically a Kronwall that fights. Physicality is both big parts of their gaames, they are solid enough defensively and both have high offensive capabilities.

Yandle is an OK comparison but it leaves a large part of Smiths game, his mean streak, completely unaccounted for. Kronwall doesnt fight like Smith does, but he does have physicality as a large dimension of his game.

Sheahan I dont see a Bertuzzi type player. Maybe in a sense that both are big and physical and at this point Bert will produce around 45 points but stylistically I dont think its all that good. Sheahan is going to be amazing defensively, he already is and hes already big enough to dominate games physically. If he can get some decent offense to come around he might become the best third line C in the league